Tell Us Your Story!

[Tim Brauhn]

Jambo, everybody! We're glad that you're here and glad that you've decided to Join the Story of The 1010 Project and our friends and partners in Kenya.

But we want to know your stories, too. Respond to this discussion with a bit about who you are, where you are, and what you do. We're happy to have you with us!

[Tim Brauhn]

Howdy everyone. My story: I am a MA candidate in International Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, where I am concentrating my studies on Religion and Politics in the Middle East and Central Asia and comparative democratization. I'm the Program Officer here at The 1010 Project. Some of my major jobs include organizing our grantwriting efforts and evaluating the impacts of our work in Kenya.

I have a BA in English Language and Literature from Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois. I focused my studies on feminist literary criticism and sociolinguistics. Before coming to Denver, I was actively involved in interfaith peacebuilding in the Chicago area, working as a resident fellow at Aurora University's Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action and collaborating with the Niagara Foundation, Interfaith Youth Core, and Hesed House.

Aside from the "regular" academic research stuff, I definitely plan on continuing with interfaith work in some capacity, and working at The 1010 Project has gotten me very interested in social media and the nonprofit community. In my studies on comparative democratization, I've found poverty to be a dangerous variable, and I think that what we're trying to do here is awesome.

When I'm not reading my eyes off, I enjoy cycling, writing, languages, and tea. Oh, and cooking. I LOVE to cook.

[Natalie]

Thanks, Tim!
I am Natalie. I am actively involved in anything volunteer, politics or community service, right now I am working on a Habitat for Humanity Benefit Concert that I am hosting, managing and sponsoring! I plan on majoring in International Relations next year so that I may have a career in Humanitarian Aid or Human Rights, so cool! I am trying to decide between three different schools Cornell College in Mount Vernon Iowa, John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and Colorado Christian University in Lakewood. I am in the crazy state of Texas though still love it. I am working at a restaurant trying to save up for college next year! I work as a food runner and guest specialist! I LOVE to read, if I could do anything for a day it would be to read! I also enjoy hanging out with friends, volunteering with kids, working out, volunteering in general, community service is always really fun, I love drinking... tea, meeting new people, helping people, singing, playing the guitar, playing the drums, sports these include but are not limited too soccer, running, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, Habitat for Humanity, Surfing, water skiing, jet skiing, wind surfing, dolphins, boogie boarding, tubing, Snowboarding, Skiing, bossaball! traveling, anything political, and probably a lot more stuff!

[Jane Kamau]

Hi Tim. Hi everyone. Am a mother of 3 children, young man in Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Tech. Nairobi campus pursuing a degree in Actuarial Science and my daughter in secondary school at Loreto Limuru Girls Secondary school. My third girl is in primary school in Malindi where we live. I started a CBO in Malindi in 2005 with the aim of empowering women and families in crisis due to the abject poverty driving children into child labour and exploitation in Malindi. I talked to my close friends beginning 2004 and we formed and registered SHAPE(self help alliance in poverty eradication) in march 2005 as a self help group. We were able to enlist the help of my parish priest who allowed us the use of the church grounds to start a street/beach child drop-in-centre where since nov.2005 we have been conducting early childhood education for children who cannot afford to pay fees. Over 200 children have gone through this program which also caters for their basic education needs e.g. feeding program, health care, counselling etc. and upon completion of early childhood education we provide school uniforms and enroll them to the public primary schools near their homes. We also decided that in order to strengthen the children's support system at the family level to work on socio-economically empowering their caregivers, who are mostly women, with adult education and skills training including life skills in collaboration with other stakeholders.
We have an IGA for sustainability of our charitable work in the form of an Internet cafe, where we are teaching the youth and other members of the community on the use of the internet at a very low fee. I am also currently organizing a community craft exhibition in partnership with the Gede National Monument and Museum to showcase the work of the local groups and individuals with the aim of promoting their work and seeking partnerships with other stakeholders in the tourism industry for the benefit of the community and sustainable exploitation of natural resources towards poverty eradication.
I have a diploma in Library Science but never really became a career librarian. Having practically brought up my kids alone furthering education was a dream i left my kids to fulfill for me. I like what am doing very much though challenges are many.
I LOVE KIDS!!!

[Peter Deitz]

Hi,

I was asked by Tim to introduce myself.

I'm Peter Deitz, a blogger, technology consultant, and the founder of Social Actions. Social Actions helps people find and share opportunities to make a difference. We aggregate actions from thirty-plus action sources, including Kiva, DonorsChoose.org, and VolunteerMatch. Someday, we'll also be aggregating actions from the 1010 project.

I give talks on person-to-person fundraising, micro-philanthropy, and the philanthropic web. My work is based on the idea that peer-to-peer citizen initiatives are the best incubator for broad social change.

I live and work in Montreal, Canada.

[Adam Delp]

Hello,

My name is Adam Delp and I am from a small rural town in Indiana. As a young boy, I had the opportunity to travel to Honduras with my family on two separate occasions. While in Honduras, I was exposed to extreme poverty and I made a friend; his name was Gustavo. Gustavo and I came from vastly different socio-economic backgrounds, but this did not matter as we climbed trees, swam in rivers, explored caves, and dodged water buffaloes. I have joined the story of The 1010 Project because of this experience and lesson learned as a boy.

Currently, I am in Denver where I work and live.

I am part of The 1010 Project organization. My role focuses upon words like communicate, clarify, develop, balance, marshal, formulate, lead, oversee, implement, and evaluate.

My favorite quote comes from a farmer named Wendell Berry,

"Rats and roaches live by competition under the law of supply and demand;

it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy."

I strive to have a story of justice and mercy.

[Jessie Laigaie]

Hello-
My name is Jessie Laigaie and I am currently the Community Events Coordinator with the 10/10 Project and this is my story. I am a military brat and have never lived in one place for more than three years my whole life. I have lived from Hawaii to Germany and had the advantages of traveling all over. I graduated high school in '04 from in Fayetteville, NC lovingly called by those who live there Fayettnam... I found Colorado Christian University (CCU) online applied, got accepted and didn't even think twice about not going there.
At CCU i had the opportunity to have Andrew (founder and board member) as a professor and as a result became introduced to the 10/10 project. My last two years I was involved with the campus group and was able to go to Kenya and meet some of our amazing partners. Upon graduating college I went back home for the summer to help my parents move from NC to Georgia then officially moved out to Denver and started volunteering again with 10/10.
It is my belief that God desires for us to love one another and I can think of no better way to show His love than to help someone have the opportunity to live life to the fullest.
I enjoy being outside whether it's hiking or skiing, and I love running and I occasionally attempt at being crafty...

My favorite quote is by Edward Everett Hale
" I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

[Daniel Sauve]

Hey everyone.
I meant to introduce myself here a while ago, but I think I was overwhelmed at the idea of trying to encapsulate my biography in a couple paragraphs. So I won't try to do that. I'll tell you that I'm a student at the University of Denver, getting a degree in International Administration, though I don't care much for the administration part. But it's a degree that allows me to also pursue a certificate in Humanitarian Assistance and a concentration in video productions. I am confident all these pieces will fit into a lucrative career which will be handed to me the day I graduate in June.

I am also the senior editor at a rad website called metroAfrican. You can locate this rad website at www.metroafrican.com. There will you find some interesting info about what's up in African communities in the Denver metro area.

Furthermore, I work at the African Community Center, which is a refugee resettlement program where I meet the coolest people from around the world. And I'm a student leader for Students for Africa at DU as well, so I'm pretty much way more involved with African stuff than a white guy from upstate NY should be.

I am consistently impressed by the work the 1010 peeps do to create community both in Kenya and here in Denver.

Good day.